Golden Hawks pull away in 2nd half for 45-23 victory.

As freshman Nia Mims pounded the basketball onto the court to run out the clock, the cheers from the Bethlehem Catholic bench and the stands behind it grew louder.

The calendar may say it's only January, but the Golden Hawks performed like a group intent on reaching March.

Bethlehem Catholic started the second half by holding Central Catholic without a field goal until the third-quarter buzzer. By the final minute, the Golden Hawks' starters were resting on the bench.

A once-competitive matchup between the girls basketball teams ranked Nos. 1 and 2 in The Morning Call coverage area ended in a blowout for Bethlehem Catholic, which rolled to a 45-23 Lehigh Valley Conference win.

By beating the Vikettes (9-3 overall, 4-1 LVC), Bethlehem Catholic (10-1, 5-0) affirmed its standing as the LVC favorite. The Golden Hawks may again have to beat Central Catholic, the five-time defending league champion, to win the LVC title, but Tuesday they established that they are the group closer to championship form.

Kalista Walters scored a game-high 17 points and snared nine rebounds, Bridget Smith had six points and 13 rebounds, and point guard Janelle Robinson scored eight points, collected seven steals and dished out three assists to pace Bethlehem Catholic. The Golden Hawks, who also got eight points from Nicole Lacherza, were aggressors from the start, opening the game with a 14-2 spurt and applying relentless ball pressure.

"We had a game Friday night, we had a game Saturday that we slept-walked through for half a game, so Monday was the only day we prepared for [Central Catholic]," Bethlehem Catholic coach Bill Lanscek said. "Basically our practice was defense — positioning, what they run, how we wanted to defend it, keeping that energy level up.

"We didn't put any new wrinkles in. We had the same package in we always did if they were man or they were zone. It was about defense, and it was about all five of them."

Robinson spearheaded Bethlehem Catholic's defensive effort. She had three steals in the first quarter as the Golden Hawks jumped on the Vikettes, forcing eight turnovers. Central Catholic wound up turning the ball over 25 times, giving it away at least seven times in three different quarters.

Eight of those giveaways came in the third, when Bethlehem Catholic ripped off a 10-0 run to open a 15-point lead. Walters scored six of her points during that stretch, sticking two jumpers and converting a putback. Robinson ended the spurt with a pull-up jumper that gave the Golden Hawks a 30-15 edge.

Central Catholic never threatened from there as its offensive woes continued. It had one field goal over the first 11:57 of the second half and scored 25 or fewer points for the third time this season. They have lost all three of those games.

Olivia Roseman scored a team-high seven points for the Vikettes, who managed just 27 field-goal attempts. Bethlehem Catholic, meanwhile, attempted 46 field goals and pounded the Vikettes 31-15 on the boards.

"We're young, and they [the Golden Hawks] finally thought there was an opportunity to beat us, and I thought they played a great third quarter," Central Catholic coach Mike Kopp said. "We didn't, and that was the difference in the game. We just need to be able to penetrate a little bit, and right now at this point, we're just not doing that.

"I think we're capable of doing it. We'll get there."

Losers of two straight games, the Vikettes have a little over a month to find their form for a postseason run. Lanscek still thinks his Golden Hawks have a lot of work to do before the postseason, too.

After losing to Central Catholic three times a year ago, including in the LVC championship game and the District 11 Class 3A final, Bethlehem Catholic took a leap forward Tuesday.

"This is the best confidence-booster for us," Robinson said. "Last year most of our losses were to Central, and this is a rivalry. We wanted to come out here and make a statement.

"We are the top two teams, so if we can beat Central, we obviously feel like we can do anything. Anything is possible if we stick together."